Don't stress reading is a developmental skill and students are all ready at different times. If you feel you would like to do more to support your child's reading readiness here are some tips.
After reviewing feedback from the page 3 portion of the report cards I see that many parents are excited to teach their children to read. When deciding what to teach first, I imagine that many parents start with what they know— sounding it out.
/C/ /a/ t/. Caaaat. CAT.
Sounding out words is a developmental skill. We can introduce it gently, reintroduce it later, and provide opportunities for practice when it’s finally “clicked.”
But did you know that kids need to know quite a few things about reading before we should teach them to sound out words?
1. Concepts of PrintIf yours is a reading house, you may find that your children develop concepts of print without a lot of instruction from you.
How to develop concepts of print
2. Language and Listening SkillsAs you read to your children, they’ll develop language and listening skills which they need before they can become readers.
How to promote phonological and phonemic awareness:
Thanks for the feedback
Mrs. Oxley
After reviewing feedback from the page 3 portion of the report cards I see that many parents are excited to teach their children to read. When deciding what to teach first, I imagine that many parents start with what they know— sounding it out.
/C/ /a/ t/. Caaaat. CAT.
Sounding out words is a developmental skill. We can introduce it gently, reintroduce it later, and provide opportunities for practice when it’s finally “clicked.”
But did you know that kids need to know quite a few things about reading before we should teach them to sound out words?
1. Concepts of PrintIf yours is a reading house, you may find that your children develop concepts of print without a lot of instruction from you.
- They hold books correctly and turn pages in the right direction.
- They know that each word on a page represents a spoken word.
- They understand that text is read from left to right.
How to develop concepts of print
- Read to your child often.
- Introduce books by their title. Sometimes, draw attention to the author and illustrator.
- Make sure some of the books you read have large bold print, and point to the words as you read.
- Point out signs in your environment (the Cheerios box, an EXIT sign, and the sign at your grocery store). Help your child see that print is all around you.
2. Language and Listening SkillsAs you read to your children, they’ll develop language and listening skills which they need before they can become readers.
- They can retell a familiar story in their own words.
- They engage with a story as you read to them — asking questions (“Why did he say that?”) and making personal connections (“I wish I could have that much ice cream!”)
- They can answer simple questions about a story.
- Ask open-ended questions as you read. Ask more “why” and “how” questions than “who” and “what.”
- Explain unfamiliar words as you read.
- Encourage your children to play pretend.
- They recognize both upper and lower case letters. Obviously if you teach your child to sound out words with capital letters, he doesn’t need to know the lowercase alphabet. But since most books are written with both upper and lower case letters, it’s helpful if your child can recognize lowercase letters as well.
- They can name each letter’s sound.
- They can count words.
- They can count syllables in words.
- They can rhyme.
- They can put sounds together to make a word. If you say these sounds to your child, /f/ and /ish/, can he put them together to make fish? If you stretch a word and say it like this — mooooon – does your child know the word is moon?
- They can identify the first and last sound in a word. This is not the same thing as knowing the letter. For example, if you ask your child the first sound in the word phone, she should be able to answer /f/.
- One thing you can work on at home is alliteration. You will probably remember this as tongue twitsters from when you were young. “Six slimy slithering smiling snakes” You can work on alliteration and rhyming at the same time. One activity you can do at home is recite nursery rhymes and switch it up. Your child will love to point out your mistakes. “Humpty Dumpty sat on a horse.” Oops:) This should get some laughs.
How to promote phonological and phonemic awareness:
- Give your child a cup with counters. Say a sentence in the normal way and then recite it very slowly. (“The sky is blue.”) Can your child give you a counter for each word of the sentence?
- Teach your child to count syllables by starting with their own name. Then move on to other familiar words.
- Read rhyming books.
- Play rhyming games. I spy with my little eye something that rhymes with blue. The answer could be shoe or the number 2 etc.
- They enjoy being read to.
- They frequently ask you to read aloud.
- They pretend to read.
- Let your child see the value of knowing how to read by reading in a variety of ways in her presence. This might mean reading a recipe, your favorite magazine, devotional material, or even your e-mail.
- Let your child choose books he loves when you read to him — but don’t feel tied to books you’re bored with.
Thanks for the feedback
Mrs. Oxley